Chapter 71
While Karl was still in shock, Yomi had already perked up and begun reassessing the room from top to bottom.
Clearly, Satan had planned to imprison him from the very start last night. Even by Karl’s standards, the guest room was ridiculously large. It even had an en-suite bathroom, and every sort of daily necessity was provided.
Coming back over to Karl, Yomi nudged the tray toward him, signaling for him to eat. “It smells pretty good. Give it a try.”
How could Karl possibly be that calm? He glanced all around the room. “Staying here is too dangerous. We should figure out a way to get back… Don’t worry, I brought a weapon.”
“…A weapon?”
Karl immediately led Yomi to a corner far away from the door. Then, with great secrecy, he pulled back his sleeve and finally took a tiny handgun out of an inner pocket.
Yomi: “?”
Karl: “Don’t panic.” He began fiddling with the little gun and pulling at it.
A moment later, the little sheep’s expression slowly changed.
Under Karl’s manipulation, the tiny handgun stretched and grew larger, until it was almost half the size of Yomi’s sheep body!
While assembling it, Karl whispered, “This is the transforming weapon His Highness gave me for escorting you. It takes tremendous strength to pull it open. Once activated, it can cause huge damage to every person or object within a fixed distance in one direction, and it also creates smoke for a period of time. We can attack the door in the middle of the night, then take the chance to escape!”
The little sheep’s bright eyes stared at the weapon in amazement. He circled it once, then looked up at Karl with concern. “I think… being clever is the safer approach.”
This was Satan’s territory. As the lord here, his estate was certainly packed with men. There was no way the smoke could cover the entire manor. If they failed to escape, being caught and dragged back would very likely enrage him, and then they would lose this one and only weapon. At that point, what would happen to them would be impossible to predict.
Karl’s expression turned conflicted.
“Put it away quickly.” The little sheep laid a hoof on the weapon and stroked it. “If there’s no one-hundred-percent certainty, it’s better not to bring this out.”
Karl understood that logic too. If he alone had been imprisoned, he could have calmly waited for the Crown Prince or people from Evil Ghost State to come rescue him. But now Yomi was imprisoned with him, and everything here was beyond his control. He was simply too afraid that something might go wrong before help came.
“Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.” Yomi rubbed his head against Karl’s arm. “You saw it too, that Satan won’t hurt us… In a way, we’re actually pretty lucky. We’ve gone straight into enemy headquarters. Pearl State is more prosperous than Evil Ghost State, and its influence spreads farther. If, while they’re preparing to attack Evil Ghost State, I go and become the boss here’s son, no matter how you look at it, that’s a good thing.”
The moment Karl imagined such an optimistic, adorable little sheep being forced into becoming someone’s son, his heart began to ache. “Damn it. If His Highness knew, he’d absolutely never let him off.”
Karl rarely got angry. Yomi quickly bleated softly to comfort him, then turned and pushed the food tray back over. He really was hungry. He first picked up a little piece of pizza and chewed it down, then said with satisfaction, “Not bad! We should eat a lot and make that bad guy bleed some money!” As he spoke, he lowered his head and noisily lapped up milk, then moved on to choosing the more expensive-looking snacks.
Karl: “…”
The kind of thinking where eating some food counts as making the other person suffer a huge loss—only their Empire’s little treasure could think like that.
By noon, the door outside opened again. This time it was Cold Crow, bringing several servants with him to deliver lunch.
The servants opened the little hatch at the bottom of the iron-barred door, first collected their breakfast trays, and then slid in new trays with one large and one small lunch box on them.
Yomi had eaten too many snacks and was lying limp on the blanket. At a glance, he really did look a bit like someone in despair.
Karl, meanwhile, was flipping through the books in the room.
“Hey, this is your lunch. When you’re done, knock on the door, and someone will take away the lunch boxes and trash… Don’t try to escape. There are far more people around this room than you imagine.” Cold Crow glanced at the pitiful-looking sheep, then at the weathered Karl nearby, sighed, and turned to leave.
“Wait.”
Cold Crow turned back. The one who had spoken was the sheep sprawled there.
“What is it?”
Propping himself up on his hooves, the little sheep angrily walked over to the lunch boxes and, without any politeness at all, flipped the lids open with a hoof. “I already had these same things last night. I don’t want to eat them!”
What sort of fit was this little sheep throwing?
Still, considering he had been kidnapped and imprisoned for no reason, Cold Crow felt that if it had happened to him, he might have gone mad too. So he patiently replied, “Because you kept eating these last night, the lord assumed you liked them and specifically told the cooks to prepare them… What would you like today? I’ll have the cooks make it again.”
Fortunately, there were some food books on the room’s bookshelf. Yomi had Karl fetch one down for him. Then he carried it in his mouth and brought it to the door.
Dropping to the floor, the sheep opened the book with both front hooves and pointed at the gorgeous pictures inside. “I want foie gras and shark fin like this, truffle cream baby potatoes, clear-braised softshell turtle, then a few side dishes to go with drinks, and two bottles of rum… Oh, and for afternoon tea, I want macarons, hazelnut cake, walnut pie, and for coffee I want hand-ground coffee…”
The corner of Cold Crow’s mouth twitched wildly.
This tiny little sheep brat still wanted alcohol and coffee? And even hand-ground coffee—why not ask to go straight to heaven while he was at it?
But in the end, he could only suppress his temper and say, “Fine. Anything else?”
Yomi looked toward Karl. “Pangolin, do you need anything else?”
Karl nearly laughed out loud. He hid his face behind a book and coughed. “Ahem… no.”
Yomi said to Cold Crow, “Then I’ll trouble you.”
Cold Crow left while swallowing his anger.
For all that Cold Crow looked unhappy, his efficiency was actually quite good. Before long, a whole group of servants came in pushing a food cart.
Cold Crow didn’t come this time. The servants saw the little sheep lying there pawing at his hooves and called gently, “Young Master Yangyang, lunch is served.”
“Oh, coming.” The little sheep elegantly wiped his hooves with a wet wipe, stretched his limbs, stood up, and beckoned Karl to come eat together.
The servants shut the door and left.
Karl moved the feast into the middle of the room. Yomi was too short, so it was more convenient to eat with everything set on the floor.
Meanwhile, Yomi tugged a bedsheet out of the cupboard and spread it as a tablecloth. Brimming with ceremony, he and Karl sat face-to-face.
Looking at the dazzling spread laid across the sheet, the two exchanged a smile and began eating with gusto.
Even as Yomi ate, he didn’t forget to ask Karl which foods were especially expensive. After all, Karl had once been the Crown Prince’s secretary and had naturally seen many extravagant ingredients. Yomi wanted to make Satan, who had illegally imprisoned him, bleed a lot of money!
Karl searched through his memories of those top-tier feasts and listed dish after dish for him.
The little sheep ate the delicious food while listening with utmost seriousness. By the time Karl finished, he was already hiccuping.
Karl hurriedly wiped his mouth with a handkerchief. The more he looked at him, the cuter he seemed. Even in an entire flock, Yomi would definitely be the prettiest, most delicate-looking sheep. No wonder he was always being coveted wherever he went… Thinking of that, Karl remembered that at one point he himself had wanted to adopt Yomi.
More than an hour later, the servants who came to collect the trays also brought in afternoon tea.
When they opened the door, the little sheep inside was taking a nap. They assumed he had gotten drunk and quietly asked, “Young Master Yangyang, would you like some hangover soup?”
Yomi naturally hadn’t touched the alcohol. Drinking would ruin things, and he had bigger plans. He had hidden all the midday liquor away.
But since they thought he was drunk, he simply kept his eyes closed and pretended to be.
Karl, who went over to collect the afternoon tea, acted along too. “He’s upset and drank too much. He’ll be fine after some sleep. You may go.”
The moment the door shut, the little sheep leapt off the bed and trotted over to pick out little cakes.
Karl took a sip of coffee and watched the little sheep with cream all over his mouth. For some reason, life actually felt pretty nice~
It was just that there really wasn’t much entertainment.
Yomi felt exactly the same. After only half a day of extravagance, he had already adapted to his young-master style. As he swallowed cream, he tilted his head and said, “This place is way too boring. Later, I’m going to ask foster father to get internet installed.”
Karl: !
He didn’t know whether to be more shocked by how quickly Yomi had accepted the title of foster father, or by the insanity of asking that man to install internet.
Even though Pearl State was more prosperous than Evil Ghost State, it wasn’t so developed that you could casually set up internet everywhere. Especially since this manor was clearly in the suburbs, which made it even more troublesome.
Yomi simply thought his plan was brilliant! If things kept going like this and Satan grew irritated with his extravagant, wasteful lifestyle and no longer wanted him as a son, then being set free wouldn’t be such a bad result. And if Satan could endure it, then Yomi could stay and keep investigating him… No matter how you looked at it, Yomi felt this direction was the right one.
And indeed, Yomi’s approach was not wrong. That very evening, Satan came storming over. “Why did you drink so much? You’re so tiny, and you wanted two whole bottles of alcohol? What if you made yourself sick? Other people all compete to become my son, but you’re unlike any of them!” By the end, he sounded like the one feeling wronged.
Yomi had already taken a bath and was sitting with his back to the door in the corner, reading a little picture book. Hearing Satan’s voice, he immediately slumped down in a pitiful heap.
Looking at that haggard little back inside the room, Satan’s anger instantly turned into heartache. He turned to his men and ordered, “No one is ever to give him alcohol again!”
But the moment those words fell, a sobbing sound could be heard.
Satan jolted. He immediately tried to shove his head between the iron bars to see what was wrong with his adopted son, but the little sheep stubbornly kept his back turned…
“Yangyang, why are you crying? Who upset you?”
Yomi didn’t answer. He wasn’t really crying. He was only pouting and making little whining noises. He had discovered that sheep mouths were extremely suited to imitating that sort of sound, almost like playing a flute, and he was quite enthusiastically doing it now.
Outside, Satan had already become frantic with worry. He was afraid that entering the room might upset the sheep even more, so he could only glare at the other person inside. “What are you standing there for? Hurry up and comfort Yangyang! Look how heartbroken he is!”
Karl: “…”
Satan was still about to go on when the little sheep with his back turned finally spoke. “A-are you planning to keep me locked up here for the rest of my life?”
“Huh? Of course not. If you’re willing to be my son, then naturally I won’t keep you locked up…”
Yomi knew that if he agreed right now, Satan would never believe him. So he muttered, “Forget it. I’ll just treat it like being in prison… If I die here one day, please bury me in Skull State, so my soul can return home.”
Satan: “…Yangyang!”
The little sheep rolled onto his side and said gloomily, “It’s so stifling here. If there were internet, maybe I could ignore the fact that I’m in prison.”
“Internet?” Satan’s eyes lit up. “That’s simple! Tomorrow Daddy will have people set up internet here. It’ll take a few days, though. Can you be patient a little longer?”
“My lord!” Cold Crow felt like Satan had gone insane. “He has a second-hand communicator. If you do that, won’t he just contact someone to come here?!”
“Nonsense!” Satan snapped coldly. “I’m the lord here. He’s just a little sheep without even a human form. Who could he possibly contact? Even if he really did contact friends, who would dare come here looking to die?” After snorting, he smiled at the sheep’s back. “Yangyang, if there’s anything you need, just tell Daddy. Daddy will satisfy all of it.”
Cold Crow couldn’t help rolling his eyes.
The little sheep stiffened, as if touched. He slowly turned and looked at him once.
Satan immediately straightened his back.
Then Yomi turned away again and quietly glanced at Karl.
Karl caught the signal and rose in anger. “Stop moving yourself to tears. If you really cared about Yangyang, you’d let him go.”
“Shut up!” Satan flew into humiliation and rage. “If I weren’t worried Yangyang would become depressed all alone, you would never have been allowed to stay here! Since you can speak, then make yourself useful and persuade Yangyang properly. Don’t think too highly of yourself!”
The moment he heard this, Yomi became furious. “You’re not allowed to talk like that! He’s my friend! Apologize!”
“Alright, alright, friend, friend. Daddy apologizes. Daddy will treat your friend properly…” The monster instantly abandoned his earlier harshness and humbly coaxed the little sheep. “Daddy was wrong. Don’t be angry.”
Cold Crow: …My fists are getting itchy.
Yomi huffed. Then he went over and nudged Karl with his head to comfort him.
Karl watched this sheep, who truly seemed to be worried about him, and found himself caught between laughter and tears. Back when he had been Anxius’s secretary, what sort of people had he not met before? He would never take such words to heart.
Taking the chance, Karl picked up the little sheep and walked with him into Satan’s blind spot. In a low voice he said, “We’re cooperating very well.”
The little sheep pursed his lips and nodded.
Outside the door, Satan’s expression was incredibly complicated.
Although he couldn’t see his precious son at that moment, just the thought of that pangolin walking out of his line of sight while holding his child made him jealous enough to see red. When would baby finally let him hold him too?
Still, the day hadn’t been without gains. Satan could tell that the little sheep wasn’t as resistant to him now as he had been yesterday.
He couldn’t rush things. Given enough time, the little sheep would eventually come to see him as a father.
After leaving the guest room, Satan instructed the servants to satisfy every one of Young Master Yangyang’s requests, whether for food or entertainment.
There was, of course, another motive besides simply doting on the little sheep: Satan wanted to get him used to an extravagant lifestyle. That way, even if the little sheep wanted to leave later, he wouldn’t be able to adapt to his old life anymore… right?
Feeling very smug about having grasped some essential weakness of human nature, Satan had already begun imagining a beautiful future where father and son shared deep affection.
That night, Yomi started laying out the plans for his spy career.
Know yourself and know the enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without peril. Step one: obtain basic information from inside enemy territory and gain an initial understanding of Satan’s range of influence and actual strength.
This plan turned out rather successful. Cold Crow clearly didn’t take one little sheep seriously. Once, while accompanying Satan on a visit to “Young Master Yangyang,” he even reported some news about the generals’ return trip.
Yomi had been pretending to sleep at the time, but his ears were busily eavesdropping.
What Cold Crow said wasn’t exactly secret, but it was enough for Yomi to form an initial judgment about Pearl State’s lord.
Satan had several times more manpower under him than Yomi had imagined. However, his capable generals were mostly not in Pearl State at all, and their return would still take some time. That was also the reason Satan had delayed attacking Evil Ghost State.
As for Satan’s strategist, Cold Crow, Yomi could tell at a glance that he was the cautious type.
Satan, on the other hand, was impulsive, but his combat power was high. Apparently, no one had yet been able to defeat him.
Pearl State’s power was immense, and a large part of the reason Satan had ruled for so long lay in how well the two of them complemented each other.
Still, after carefully watching them, Yomi noticed that Satan had recently been dissatisfied with Cold Crow.
Once, while Satan was watching over him, he received a call from one of his men. Yomi only caught the general gist of it.
Satan believed that since Sheep Asura of Evil Ghost State had recently undergone surgery, this was the perfect chance to attack. Cold Crow, however, insisted that they should wait until all their men had returned. Satan clearly disagreed with his strategist’s approach.
Yomi: Maaah. I smell the faint scent of an opportunity to drive a wedge between them~
Two days later, the manor finally got internet installed.
The moment he heard it was online, Yomi immediately sent Yesi a message.
He told him that he and Karl were out doing something and would only come home after some time, and reminded him not to tell Anxius. At the same time, he asked the people on the farm to continue spreading the story that he was bedridden with illness.
Right after that, he sent a message to Lord Black Feather of Skull State, asking him to fabricate a complete identity on that side for a disabled Junk Star person named Yangyang…
Black Feather agreed on the spot.
After sending those messages, Yomi deleted the conversations entirely.
Once the important business was handled, the idle little sheep tapped open his boyfriend’s account with a hoof. It showed that he was offline, and calls wouldn’t go through.
That was perfectly normal. For someone engaged in such a secretive mission, cutting all communication was the safest course.
After lunch, Yomi was incredibly bored. Even being a spy didn’t mean there was intelligence to gather every second of every day. So to kill time, he dragged Karl into playing online games with him.
Yomi’s hooves were nowhere near as nimble as fingers. After losing again and again at several mainstream games, he finally switched to a dance game. It looked a lot like the dance arcade machine he remembered seeing back before transmigrating.
Yomi selected monster mode. Once he was ready, he planted all four hooves on the positions projected by the communicator. As soon as the music started, he began frantically stepping on the controls and scoring points…
Recently, Satan had been endlessly troubled by the matter of dealing with Sheep Asura.
If it had been up to him, he would have gone to Evil Ghost State immediately and taken Sheep Asura by surprise. But Cold Crow strongly opposed it, and Pearl State itself had plenty of other matters lately that also required handling…
The moment Satan returned to the manor, he had intended to go upstairs and rest. But just as he approached the corridor, he suddenly heard a lively melody drifting out from one of the rooms.
So noisy. Instinctively, he frowned.
The servant quickly explained, “It’s Young Master Yangyang…”
That stern expression changed instantly.
A few seconds later, the huge monster softly and carefully walked to the door of that room. He opened the little window and bent down to sneak a look inside.
In the room, Karl was clapping along to the rhythmic music. In front of him, meanwhile, was a little sheep moving his limbs at lightning speed, swaying along with the song. Sometimes he was quick, sometimes slow, but his timing was impeccable. His four limbs crossed and bounced in all directions, and even his short little tail was wagging along with his hooves.
Satan’s hands started trembling.
Seeing the lord shivering like he had Parkinson’s, the servant assumed he must be angry and quickly whispered, “Young Master Yangyang is playing an online game. Since you’ve returned, we’ll go shut off the internet right away so it won’t disturb you.”
“Who dares?!” The monster turned back with a chilling glare. “Let. Him. Play.”
“Ah… yes!” The servant was scared stiff.
Quietly leaving his darling son’s room, Satan felt as if he were walking on cotton. His whole body was dizzy and light.
After returning to his own room, the man who normally hated using communicators unexpectedly went online. Smiling to himself, he searched up what games young people liked… and as he searched, he discovered that many games required paid upgrades. The dance game Yangyang had been playing today, for example, gave very few music options unless you spent money.
The moment Satan saw that, he was anxious. The thought of the little sheep having no songs to dance to made his heart ache, and he immediately ordered a servant to go ask Yangyang for his account.
Over there, the instant Yomi was asked for his communicator account, he knew it was Satan’s doing. Calm as could be, he gave them his Junk Star account.
Almost no outsiders knew this account. The few who did were all trustworthy people.
An hour later, Yomi received a friend request.
ID: Yangyang’s Dad
Yomi silently accepted it in utter speechlessness.
The other side immediately sent him a message:
Yangyang, why is your account already permanent VIP? Daddy can’t even buy you a membership…
Yomi: ?
A few seconds later, the other side sent another message—this time a red envelope.
Yomi opened it and found that the amount wasn’t small at all.
Take this to play games. If it’s not enough, ask Daddy for more.
Yomi: “…”
Saving money hadn’t been very convenient back in Evil Ghost State. Yomi wasn’t short on cash, just on funds in his account. He calmly accepted the envelope. Thanks…
He would just treat it as a bank exchange.
After accepting the money, the little sheep tucked several banknotes beneath his pillow.
But that inevitably made him think again of the boyfriend far away on Birdman Planet.
In order to hide his identity, Anxius had also only brought cash with him when he left. And before leaving, he had spent so much money buying him those human antiques… Yomi had no idea what kind of life he was living over there, or whether he had enough money to spend. The thought was enough to make his heart tighten painfully.
With that in mind, his hoof unconsciously opened the chat window, and with one quick motion, he forwarded the red envelope Daddy Foster Father had given him to his boyfriend.
Yomi: Dear, this is the money I earned by being someone’s son. Don’t be polite.
